Remembering Jim Morrison

James Douglas Morrison was born December 8, 1943 in Melbourne, Florida, to Clara Virginia and Lt. George Stephen Morrison. George was a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, and you know how painful that can be! Raised a military brat, Jim lived all over the country.

In the summer of 1965, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the UCLA film school, Morrison led a bohemian lifestyle in Venice Beach. Living on the rooftop of a building inhabited by silent film star, Tallulah Bankhead, he wrote the lyrics of many of the early songs the Doors would later perform live and record on albums, such as “Moonlight Drive” and “Hello, I Love You”. Jim lived on canned beans, guava jelly and LSD for several months. Jim ran into Ray Manzarek one day on the beach and they formed The Doors. Robby Krieger and John Densmore joined the next day.

100 Million Albums Sold

The Doors were among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison’s lyrics and voice along with his erratic stage persona, and the group was widely regarded as an important part of the counter culture. They were the first American band to accumulate eight consecutive gold LPs and sold over 100 million albums.

Remembering Jim Morrison
- Illustration By Paul King Art — Jim Morrison Caricature By Paul King Art

There was quite the scandal when Jim and The Doors appeared on The Ed Sullivan show. Everything was going along fine during rehearsals. 15 minutes before showtime, Ed, along with his production Weasels, visited The Doors dressing room. “Hello boys” smirked Sullivan “I’m going to need you boys to go ahead and change the lyrics to your song mmmkay?” Sullivan’s flunkies explained they wanted Morrison to sing “Girl, we couldn’t eat more cookies” instead of “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher” when performing “Light My Fire,” because the line might be construed as referring to drugs. The rebellious, erratic, unpredictable, some might say insane, Jim Morrison, looked right into the camera and sang the original lyrics, with extra emphasis on “Higher”. Sullivan went berserk and chased Morrison and The Doors out of the studio, bashing Jim over the head with his shoe. Morrison was laughing hysterically.

Stories of Morrison’s public urination have become so legendary, Barney’s Beanery restaurant and bar in Los Angeles put up a plaque to commemorate the exact spot where the singer once peed. Not just at the bar but literally on the bar.

Forever 27

We take this time to remember Jim Morrison on his birthday. Forever 27! One of the most iconic and influential frontmen in rock history. His legend still lives on today. There may be many ‘little Jim’s’ walking among us, as there were 37 paternity suits by 38 women pending against Jim at the time of his death. Jim Morrison was found dead in a bathtub in Paris on July 3, 1971 at the age of 27. Witnesses say, Ed Sullivan was seen leaving the room prior to Jim’s death.